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AFL club presidents back Commission after Essendon supplements saga briefing

Updated
Thu Aug 22 18:45:05 EST 2013

AFL clubs have backed the league's stance that charges relating to Essendon's use of supplements should be heard by the AFL Commission and not by an outside tribunal.

The league's 18 clubs met AFL Commission chairman Mike Fitzpatrick for more than two-and-a-half hours at AFL House on Thursday to be briefed on the situation over Essendon's supplements scandal.

The AFL on Wednesday released a 34-page document detailing the grounds on which it has charged the Bombers with bringing the game into disrepute.

Essendon coach James Hird, assistant Mark Thompson, football manager Danny Corcoran and club doctor Bruce Reid are also facing the same charge, which the club and all four individuals plan to fight.

Hird launched Supreme Court action on Thursday aimed at having an independent body, not the AFL Commission, hear the charge against him and seeking a ruling that the league provide more detail on its evidence plus a list of witnesses it will call.

But Western Bulldogs chairman Peter Gordon, speaking on behalf of the clubs, told reporters that resolving the issue within the league itself was vital.

"In our view, it is of paramount importance that every effort be made to resolve these matters within the AFL industry," Gordon said, reading from a prepared statement.

Gordon said after discussions with the league and Essendon chairman Paul Little, the 17 other clubs met in the absence of the AFL and the Bombers to consider the Essendon dispute.

"We resolved to unanimously express our support for the integrity of the AFL rules and the need for those rules and the integrity of our competition to be preserved," Gordon said.

Gordon's statement is a blow to the Bombers after Little had spoken on Wednesday of the strong level of support in the football community for Essendon in the scandal over the club's use of supplements in 2012.

Port Adelaide president David Koch said as he entered AFL House earlier on Thursday that resolving the issue between seventh-placed Essendon and the league before next month's finals series was vital.

"No one wants a public slanging match," he said.

"We've got to get on with the footy. We've got to get on with the finals."

Hawthorn president Andrew Newbold said he was concerned for the greater good of the game.

"The other codes in Australia must be looking at us and rubbing their hands with glee," he said.